We make use of a bottom-up approach to understand how bacterial communities assemble and function in a simple metaorganism, the freshwater polyp Hydra.

I am also interested in the microbiome composition of the marine species Actinia tenebrosa and Nematostella vectensis. Studying the Vibrio population structure I intend to further our understanding of host-microbe interactions, particularly focusing on the selective forces and ecological conditions that promote pathogen emergence.

Plastic debris is one of the world’s newest ecosystems and provides a durable substrate that can be colonized by microbes and transported long distances. Over time, microbes form biofilms that can include potential pathogens and harmful algal bloom species. The project PLASTISEA has the goal to discover novel enzymes and microorganisms for the development of innovative strategies for the removal of synthetic polymers from the marine environment.

As micro- and nanoplastics are everywhere, it is also important to explore how consumed particles and their microbiota interact with hosts and impact their life and health.

Despite their simplistic body plan, which places host cells in direct contact with the surrounding seawater, sponges harbour dense, diverse, and highly specific microbial communities.

I am fascinated by the diversity of bacterial defence mechanisms against predation and the role of protist (unicellular eukaryotes) grazing on the stability, diversity and function of complex microbial communities.

The role of protists is under-investigated in host-microbiome studies and I plan to explore how microbe – protist – host tissue interactions work.

We look at the potential for the application of concepts and methods from microbiome research to meet conservation challenges.

We explore the diversity of microbial communities associated with diverse insect hosts.

This work explores how methane-derived carbon significantly contributes to benthic food-webs in lakes. Results support the evidence that the flux of carbon through inland freshwaters is an important component for understanding the global carbon cycle.

Important elements of research in ecology include the analysis of nutrient and energy flows between microbial populations and their biotic and abiotic environments. Stable isotopes and their potential for detecting complex ecosystem processes and unravelling linkages between microbiota and invertebrate consumers have proven to be an extremely useful tool. Besides measurements of natural abundance ratios, an increasing number of studies include the addition of isotopically-labelled compounds as tracers.

Potable water distribution systems and sewer networks are large infrastructure systems, highly interconnected, dynamic, subject to time, varying inputs and demands, and difficult to control. They have a major impact on our quality of life, and despite the importance of these systems as major components of the water cycle, little is known about their microbial ecology.